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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. clip — for paper
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. race — humankind
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. press — to push
  8. press — a publisher
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. bat — the animal
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. capital — money
  13. race — the arms race
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. content — the amount
  16. content — happy
  17. pass — a permit
  18. press — newspapers
  19. clip — to cut
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. capital — a city
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. race — a contest

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com